Liquid atomizers



LIQUID AToMIzERs Filed Feb. 3, 1961 361 f6 k a 59 37 7l )l /3 27 I J7 f m 2d 55 2f;

INVEN TOR. mega/4M z 64,0an/ 2/ a 20 BY United States Patent O 3,206,177 LIGUE) ATOMIZERS Abraham I. Caplow, University Heights, Ghia, assignor to Philip Bortat, South Euclid, Ohio Filed Feb. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 87,036 3 Claims. (Cl. 261-30) This invention is a continuation-impart of my copending application tiled on February l1, 1957, Serial No. 639,338, Patent No. 2,970,824 dated February 7, 1961, entitled Humidifiers The present invention relates broadly to improvements in liquid atomizers and more specifically to an apparatus for increasing the amount of water or other liquid in the air of a room or other conned area.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide apparatus for the dispersion of 1a liquid in a highly atomized state of suspension in the air or other gaseous substance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shroud around the tortuous circumferential edge of a rotor to disperse the liquid by impingement on the shroud in a wide band whereby a particle of liquid which is deposited on the shroud is not followed immediately by another particle along the same path, thereby resulting in a high degree of dispersion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rotor having a tortuous circumferential edge and a louvered shroud surrounding the circumference of said rotor to arrest the llight of droplets of liquid being dispersed where such droplets are incapable of being held in suspension in the gaseous substance land to break such droplets of liquid into smaller particles that may be capable of being held in suspension.

Further objects of the invention reside in the provision of a liquid atomizer that is eicient of operation, economic of manufacture, .attractive in appearance and noiseless in operation.

Other objects and advantages more or less ancillary to the foregoing, and the manner in which all the various objects are realized, will appear in the following description, which considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, sets forth the preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a top plan view of the improved liquid atomizer;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational View thereof shown in section on a line 2-2 of FlG. l;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of shroud having perforations therein;

FIG. 4 is `a fragmentary sectional View of a modied form of shroud without perforations therein;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a modiiied form of the rotor of FIGS. l and 2 having a tortuous edge with radial corrugations;

Referring to the various gures of the drawings it will be seen that the liquid atomizer apparatus comprises a motor driven atomizer mechanism member A mounted within a metallic cylindrical air tube assembly member B.

Referring first to said member A, the liquid throwing circular metal rotor disc itl and the shroud 11 surrounding the circumferential edge of said rotor disc are shown in my copending application filed February 1l, 1957, Serial No. 639,338, Patent No. 2,970,824. The said rotor disc 10 is formed with opposite segmental sections 12 and opposite segmental sections 13. The segments 12 are bent upwardly from chords 14 and the segments 13 are bent downwardly from chords 15, the segments 12 and 13 are inclined at an angle of approximately thirty degrees from the plane of the central portion of said rotor disc 1i).

Referring first to FIG. 2, the said air tube assembly member B comprises a metal pan 16 and a cylindrical metal air tube 17. The said pan 16 has a circular bottom 1S and a cylindrical side wall 19 and legs 20 forming a tripod mount secured to the bottom 18. The said bottom 18 of the pan 16 has a drain 21 to remove the liquid that does not become air-borne as it passes through the air stream 22 Within the air tube 17 The said side wall 19 of the pan 16 has an inturned flange 23 integral with the top of said side Wall 19.

The said cylindrical air tube 17 is somewhat smaller in diameter than the diameter of the inturned top llange 23 and is vertically mounted within said pan 16 in coaxial alignment with the pan side Wall 19. The said air tube 17 is attached to and spaced `apart from said pan 16 by legs 24 that may be secured in place by any suitable means such as spot welding or bolts and nuts. The said spacing apart provides an air passage 25 between the said flange 23 and the side Wall 26 of said lair tube 17. The air tube side wall 26 has an inturned llange 27 at its lower edge and an inturned ange 28 at its upper edge.

The said motor driven atomizer mechanism member A comprises a motor housing 30 having a generally cylindrical side wall 31 .and is mounted vertically within said air tube 17 and is spaced apart therfrom to form an air passage 32 therebetween and secured thereto by brackets 33. An electric motor 34 having a source of power (not shown) with its armature shaft 35 in `a vertical position is mounted within the motor housing 30 and secured to the lower end 36 thereof by brackets 37 in the usual manner.

The motor housing 30 has an integral conical upper end 3S with a central opening 39 at the apex thereof through which the upper end 40 of the armature shaft 35 extends.

The said liquid throwing rotor disc 10 is mounted in a horizontal plane atop the upper end 40 of the vertical armature shaft through a co-axially aligned cylindrical boss 41 amxed to the lower face 42 thereof. The said boss 41 has a co-axially aligned recess 43 in the lower end 44 thereof into which the said upper end 40 of the armature shaft is inserted and is detachably secured thereto by a set screw 45 placed in a screw threaded tapped and drilled opening 46 in the side wall 47 of said boss and extending into said recess 43.

The said rotor disc 10 is surrounded by the said shroud 11 which has a cylindrical vertical side wall 48. The shroud side wall 48 preferably has spaced apart louvers 49 extending outwardly therefrom and with theirfaces in a vertical plane. The said shroud 11 has legs 50 that are mounted upon the upper conical end 3S of the motor housing 30 by the usual method such as spot welding or bolts and nuts so that the open ends 51 .of the louvers 49 are first approached with respect to the rotation of said rotor disc 10. It will be seen that when the said rotor disc 19 is operated the droplets of liquid thrown therefrom will then impinge upon the inner face 52 of the louvers 49 and thus become broken into smaller particles before passing into the air passage 32.

A metal liquid supply pipe 53 having a valve 54 therein to regulate the amount of liquid received from a liquid supply source (not shown) to the upper face 55 of the rotor `disc 10 is placed above and spaced apart from the rotor disc 10 and with its ope-ning 56 in substantial vertical alignment with the center of the upper face 55 of said rotor disc 10.

A multi-bladed fan 57 is mounted horizontally in the usual manner on the lower end 58 of said armature shaft 35 adjacent to the lower flange 27 of the air tube 17. The fan blades 59 are positioned so that the air stream 22 created by the operation of said armature shaft 35 and fan 57 will pass downwardly through the air passage 25 into the pan 16 and then upwardly through the area of the fan blades 59 and into the air pas-sage 32 within the air tube 17 and `out through the top opening thereof adjacent the flange 2S.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be seen that a modified form of a shroud 60 with perforations 61 therein may be substituted for the shroud 11. FIG. 4 shows a modified form of a shroud 62 without perforations may be substituted for the shroud 11 for the atomization of certain liquids where desirable.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that a modified rotor disc 63, having a tortuous circumferential edge 64 with radial corrugations 65 may be substituted for the rotor ltl and used for the atomization of certain liquids where desirable.

In the operation lof the device it will be seen that when the motor 34 is energized the fan 5'7 and the lrotor disc mounted on the armature shaft 35 will begin to revolve. The fan 57 while revolving thus creates an -air stream 22 having a path that will be downward within the pan 16 and toward the fan 57 because of the resulting partial vacuum and upward within the air passage 32 of the air tube 17 because of the additional pressure above the fan 57. When the liquid supply valve is opened the liquid to be atomized will ow through the opening 56 of the supply pipe 53 and drop upon the central area of the upper face 55 of the rotor disc 10. The centrifugal force of the revolving rotor disc 10 will carry said liquid toward and be thrown from the peniphery thereof at approximately the speed of rotation of the -said periphery.

The droplets of liquid will then reach the said air stream 22 within the air tube 17 and will become airborne 'and remain in suspension if not too heavy. The heavy or larger droplets will spatter against the side wall l4S and/ or the louvers 49 of the shroud 11 in a wide band determined by the angle of the disc segments 12 and 13, and thus become broken into smaller particles that may 'be capable of being held in suspension and become airborne in the said air stream 22. The remaining droplets that do not become air-borne fall to the pan 16 and are removed through the drain 21.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of detailed character, in order that the invention may be completely set forth, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining, and that various rearrangements of parts and modifications 4of detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope 'or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A device which is designed to receive a liquid and air from suitable sources of supply and transform said liquid into a suitable mixture for providing a humidity condition .and said device comprising in combination:

(a) ya drainage pan,

(b) a cylindrical air tube mounted vertically in said drainage pan and spaced apart therefrom and support means therefor,

(c) a cylindrical motor casing mounted centrally Within lsaid air tube and aflixed thereto in co-axial relation therewith and spaced apart therefrom and dening thereby an annular airstream passage therebetween,

(d) a motor mounted within said motor casing and in vertical co-axial Irelation therewith,

(e) a double extended armature shaft in said motor,

(f) a liquid throwing rotor disc having peripheral segments alternately bent in opposite oblique planes from the plane of said disc and mounted within said ,air tube in `a horizontal plane on the upper extension of said shaft and driven by .said shaft,

(g) an apertured shroud positioned above said annular airstream passage and in the path of the liquid thrown from said rotor and surrounding said rotor disc and spaced in relation with the periphery thereof and support means therefor,

(h) liquid supply means above and spaced apart from said rotor disc, and

(i) a fan mounted on the lower extension of said shaft in a horizontal plane below said motor and driven by said shaft for generating an upward air current in lsaid annular airstream passage,

2. A device which'is designed to receive a liquid and air from suitable sources of supply and transform said liquid into a suitable mixture for providing a humidity condition and said device `comprising in combination:

(a) a drainage pan,

(b) a cylindrical air tube mounted vertically in said drainage pan and spaced apart therefrom and support means therefor,

(c) a cylindrical motor casi-ng mounted centrally within said air tube and aflixed theretoy in eo-axial relation therewith and spaced apart therefrom and delining thereby an annular airstream passage therebetween,

(d) a motor mounted within said motor casing and in vertical ico-axial relation therewith,

(e) a double extended armature shaft in said motor,V

(f) a liquid throwing rotor disc having peripheral segments alternately bent in opposite oblique planes from the plane of said disc and mounted within said air tube in a horizontal plane on the upper extension of said shaft and driven by said shaft,

(g) a shroud with 'outwardly extending louvers positioned above said annular airstream passage and in the path of the liquid thrown from said rotor` and surrounding said rotor disc and spaced in relation with the periphery thereof and support means therefor,

(h) said shroud louvers extending across the planes of the ridges of the upper and lower bent segments of said rotor disc with the free ends thereof pointed in a direction opposite the direction of travel of said rotor disc,

(i) liquid supply means above and spaced apart from said rotor disc, and

(j) a fan mounted on the lower extension of said shaft in a horizontal plane below said motor and driven by said shaft for generating an upward air current in said annular ainstrearn passage.

3. A device which is designed to receive a liquid and air from suitable sources of supply and transform said liquid into a suitable mixture for providing a humidity condition and said device comprising in combination:

(a) adrainage pan,

(b) a cylindrical air tube having an inturned ange atV its lower end mounted vertically in said drainage pan and spaced apart therefrom and support means therefor,

(c) a cylindrical motor casing mounted centrally within said air tube and atlixed thereto in co-axial relation therewith and spaced apart therefrom and delining thereby an annular airstream passage therebetween,

(d) a motor mounted within said motor casing and in Vertical co-axial relation therewith,

(e) a double extended armature shaft in said motor,

(f) a liquid throwing rotor disc having a tortuous circumferential edge with radial corrugations mounted within said air tube in a horizontal plane on the upper extension of said shaft and driven by said shaft,

(g) a shroud with outwardly extending louvers posi- 5 6 tioned above said annular airstream passage and :in References Cited by the Examiner the path of the liquid thrown from said rotor and UNITED STATES PATENTS surrounding said rotor dim and spaced in relation of said rotor disc with the free ends thereof pointed 3:0441752 7/62 Pluy' in a direction opposite the direction of travel .of said .FOREIGN PATENTS rotor disc, 10

(i) liquid supply means above and spaced apart from gigi Sad rotor dsc and 260,775 8/49 switzerland.

(j) `a fan mounted on the lower extension of said shaft in .a yhorizontal plane below said motor and driven by said shaft for generating an upward air current in 15 HARRY B' THORNTON Primary Exammer' said annular air-stream passage. HERBERT L MARTIN, Examiner- 

1. A DEVICE WHICH IS DESIGNED TO RECEIVE A LIQUID AND AIR FROM SUITABLE SOURCES OF SUPPLY AND TRANSFORM SAID LIQUID INTO A SUITABLE MIXTURE FOR PROVIDING A HUMIDITY CONDITION AND SAID DEVICE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A DRAINAGE PAN, (B) A CYLINDRICAL AIR TUBE MOUNTED VERTICAL IN SAID DRAINAGE PAN AND SPACED APART THEREFROM AND SUPPORT MEANS THEREFOR, (C) A CYLINDRICAL MOTOR CASING MOUNTED CENTRALLY WITHIN SAID AIR TUBE AND AFFIXED THERETO TO A CO-AXIAL RELATION THEREWITH AND SPACED APART THEREFROM AND DEFINING THEREBY AN ANNULAR AIRSTREAM PASSAGE THEREBETWEEN, (D) A MOTOR MOUNTED WITHIN SAID MOTOR CASING AND IN VERTICAL CO-AXIAL RELATION THEREWITH, (E) A DOUBLE EXTENDED ARMATURE SHAFT IN SAID MOTOR, (F) A LIQUID THROWING ROTOR DISC HAVING PERIPHERAL SEGMENTS ALTERNATELY BENT IN OPPOSITE OBLIQUE PLANES FROM THE PLANE OF SAID DISC AND MOUNTED WITHIN SAID AIR TUBE IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE ON THE UPPER EXTENSION OF SAID SHAFT AND DRIVEN BY SAID SHAFT, (G) AN APERTURED SHROUD POSITIONED ABOVE SAID ANNULAR AIRSTREAM PASSAGE AND IN THE PATH OF THE LIQUID THROWN FROM SAID ROTOR AND SURROUNDING SAID ROTOR DISC AND SPACED IN RELATION WITH THE PERIPHERY THEREOF AND SUPPORT MEANS THEREFOR, (H) LIQUID SUPPLY MEANS ABOVE AND SPACED APART FROM SAID ROTOR DISC, AND (I) A FAN MOUNTED ON THE LOWER EXTENSION OF SAID SHAFT IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE BELOW SAID MOTOR AND DRIVEN BY SAID SHAFT FOR GENERATING AN UPWARD AIR CURRENT IN SAID ANNULAR AIRSTREAM PASSAGE. 